Coal
by rainbowthefox
Summary: The Snow Miser sees that he received coal again this year, and goes to call his brother, The Heat miser, about a compromise. Things, of course, don't go according to plan. (A Year Without A Santa Claus fanfic.)


"How wonderfully cold! A perfect -40 degrees for today. Just in time, because I was starting to get a little HOT, haha!"

The Snow Miser trotted down his icy castle, which had been perfectly frozen due to the(what he'd call) wonderful weather. He really had no mindset as to where he was going, at this point he was just walking around and checking that all the ice stalactites were firm. The _last_ thing he needed was for another one to fall down and have him carve another one out of the many, many remnants of ice. It was very time consuming, and one he didn't really need on his schedule!

"This weather sends quite the CHILLS down my spine!" He joked to one of his minions. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The minion smiled and nodded. They enjoyed the cold weather too, though not as much as Snow Miser himself. The man laughed and patted his minion on the back as he continued his way through the various hallways of the ice castle. He used the friction-less parts of the floor to slide his way through some rooms, only momentarily stopping to see his reflection in some fresh slants of ice.

One particular batch of ice was showing his white teeth rather well. The Snow Miser slid over in the direction of it and took a moment to admire his looks. His eyes were always slanted and his eyebrows permanently furrowed - giving him a rather worried expression all the time. Not that he was actually _worried_ about anything. He was actually a cool type of person, often described as "suave" or "charming" by his friends.

Snow Miser trailed a gloved hand along his sharp chin. He couldn't quite change the blue tint of his skin. Not that he'd want to, anyway. He liked it because it reminded him of frostbite, one of his favorite things about winter! And his frozen hairstyle never threatened to melt. It was naturally stiff, and just the way he liked it. He also wore a blue, glittery shirt complimented by equally shiny leggings. He had a blue scarf wrapped around his neck at all times. He didn't really need it - it was all for aesthetic, anyway.

He winked at his reflection, pointing finger guns at it for fun. "Lookin' good, Snowy! Few degrees lower and you'd be even more invigorating!"

He twirled around back through the ice until he was in the middle of the room. He continued to slide further down into the other. That is, until he found the sight of something...peculiar. The Snow Miser halted in his tracks and turned on his heel to face a certain tree. A green spruce tree he had brought in especially for the holidays. Silvery, blue tinsel decorated its exterior along with many ornaments and the big star on top. His black eyes trailed down the tree until it rested to the space underneath it.

And _that_ was the peculiarity! There was absolutely nothing there. No gifts, no pity toys, and no leftovers of milk and cookies. Nothing - nada.

The Snow Miser stopped one of his minions walking nearby. He asked, "Do you know if 'ol Saint Nick stopped by? It IS Christmas, right?"

"Of course it is, sir." The minion replied. "We didn't see any sign of Santa, though. Maybe you should check your stocking?"

"Stocking?" Snow Miser repeated. "If there's no presents, what could be in the _stocking_?"

The minion shrugged and continued on his way. The Snow Miser stood there and contemplated something for a moment. He soon walked over near the entrance of the ice castle and checked for the walls nearby the opening. Many rows of stockings were hung, and some were emptied while others were completely full of candy and toys. The Snow Miser's eyes temporarily widened when he saw that his was one of the empty ones.

"What!? No, it can't be! Not again!"

Snow Miser slid over to his stocking quickly and held it in his hands. It was a glittery type of blue lined with white faux fur. It almost froze in his hands, but Snow Miser was quick to control his powers as he took a reach inside. Nothing came into his grip except something...a little rocky. When he pulled it out, he found a big lump of coal held in his gloved hand.

"Coal!?" He exclaimed to no one. "Why, that' the 44th year in a row! I've been especially good this time around."

He huffed and hung his stocking back up, discarding the black rock onto the ground and kicking it out of his sight. Santa Claus was a friend of his, and he told him before why he was always on the "Naughty" list. Nothing for what _he's_ done personally. It's all because of that treacherous brother of his...Heat Miser!

He never agreed to any of Snow Miser's ideas, and he was always so short-tempered! Truthfully, it pained him to know that he had a brother who once almost burned down a building because he stepped on a toy. He wasn't cool or smooth at all like HE was! Heat Miser was a walking time bomb who just needed to learn to be less...trigger-happy, he supposed.

An idea suddenly came into his mind. Snow Miser slid his way back into the main room of his ice castle, where his throne sat upon several layers of ice. He walked up the steps and plopped down onto its hard cushion happily. He reached for the phone beside his chair and started dialing his "dear" brother's number. He sat there with the receiver held to his ear, waiting for the line to be picked up.

"I swear, if he doesn't answer again..." He murmured.

The call was actually accepted. A big screen was revealed just in front of the Snow Miser, giving him access to see who exactly was on the other line. His brother, looking rather grumpily, looked straight back at him. He was much shorter than the Snow Miser and had a bigger frame. His hair represented fire flames and he had an orange tint to his skin, compared to the blue of his brother's.

"Hiya', Hothead!" Snow Miser greeted with a grin. "How's it over there? Cold enough for ya'?"

Heat Miser snapped. "What do you want, Snow Boy!? I'm very busy!"

"I'm sure you are..." The Snow Miser glanced behind his brother, taking note of the emptiness of the room and his lack of minions. "Tell me, brother, did Santa leave you any... _coal_ this year?"

"What would you like to know?" He crossed his arms stubbornly. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't! Maybe I got a brand new train set from him this year!"

"Oh, I know you didn't, you liar. And I know for a fact that you received coal. Because if I got some, then you did, too."

"Then why did you even _ask_?" Heat Miser rolled his eyes. The Snow Miser paused for a moment, briefly thinking why he even DID.

"I don't know..." He mused after awhile. "I guess I just wanted to talk to the Hothead. It's been so long, you know? Sugar Plum hasn't contacted me for awhile, either, so I'm not sure what Santa's deal is this year."

"Like I care! You're lucky you even HAVE friends, you know!"

"If you settled down on the heat, Harum-Scarum, you'd have some, too."

The Heat Miser clenched his fists and teeth. His hair suddenly burst into visible flames, which nearly burned the top of the projector they were sharing. This always happened with his temper tantrums; something would eventually get BURNED. Snow Miser quickly shot some ice at it, which quickly diminished the fire from spreading any further. The Heat Miser watched with wide eyes, but soon narrowed them again and crossed his arms at his brother.

"It's all because Mother likes you best!" He held his chin high. "That's what this always is! You're her favorite!"

The Snow Miser leaned forward amusingly. "Maybe it's because I wasn't the one who didn't cooperate in that whole 'heat in north' business?"

"YOU were the one who didn't cooperate!" His brother pointed a sharp finger up at him. "Mrs. Claus witnessed it and she agreed with me! Ask her yourself."

" _Please_. When would she agree with someone whose blood pressure is as high as his hair?"

"Oooh, you!"

Heat Miser released a wave of heat towards the screen. Snow Miser rebutted by sending a wave of frost his way as well, which met at the exact middle and progressed no more. This only resulted in the stream remaining stagnant for a few minutes until Heat Miser slowly rose his hand down. Snow Miser followed suit and the two of them stared at each other for the longest time.

Eventually, it was Heat Miser who sighed. "All because we don't 'get along', huh?"

"I don't exactly _see_ how two opposing forces of nature can 'get along'," The Snow Miser rolled his eyes and used finger quotations. "If Santa considered THAT, then we'd have gotten some presents for not killing each other by this point!"

"The idea isn't too bad..." Heat Miser rubbed his chin. "Exactly how much heat would it take to turn you into a puddle?"

"I'm not sure, how long would it take me to reform back into ice and cool you down?" He grinned.

The Heat Miser opened his mouth to rebut, but fell silent. He visibly started to fume and stomped his foot stubbornly on the ground. Snow Miser _had_ a point - the puddle would just freeze again and they'd be back to square 1. He had an advantage, though, because all his brother could do to _him_ was just extinguish one of his flames. Very mellow, if he'd say so himself.

"I know we don't do 'compromises', brother, but I'm willing to offer one." Snow Miser started. "And I know you love presents as much as I do. They're very nice to receive, and we give one to Mother every year."

"Uh-huh..." Heat Miser glared at him.

"So why don't we _pretend_ to like each other for one year?" He shrugged. "It shouldn't be too hard - maybe a few handshakes ought to do it. Mother would be proud and Santa would put us back on the nice list. Then it's presents extravaganza for both of us?"

"Touch YOUR hand!?" He exclaimed. "Never would I be willing to touch anything below 60 degrees!"

"Oh, please, Hothead. You'd be touching my _glove_ , not my hand."

"-Which is still equally worse!" He turned away from the screen now. "I say no! Dealing with you is one thing, but pretend to like you is another. I DON'T have time for that."

"Suit yourself," Snow Miser shrugged. "You can continue piling up the coal for your castle, and I can continue giving the North Pole snow days. One of us is a winner, and it isn't you, Dear Brother."

With that, his icy brother hung up his phone and ended the call then and there. It left Heat Miser to stand in the middle of his throne room with his back still facing the screen. His eyes narrowed while he observed the many cracks in the stone beneath his feet. Lava could be seen down below, and he relished in the heat that emanated from within.

"Pretend to _like_ him?" He scoffed. "Hah! Brother sure has a sense of humor."

There was still that side of him, though. The very subtle voice in the back of his mind telling him that maybe, just MAYBE, they could get along one day. But he kept his front up because hell would freeze over if he'd show any sympathy to that suck-up! Heat Miser didn't deal with anything cold, and his brother was included in that.

 _Mother Nature's Favorite._


End file.
